AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Why is he worried about that, of all things?"
"I—does it matter? Did you?" My eyes narrow, "are you joking about the party and cops right now?"
There is no sign of a smirk on his face. "No. Why would I? I'm genuinely concerned that you had no sleep, but I'm thankful you caught this. You've saved me a whole lot of shit to wade through.
I am going to fire the manufacturers in charge and get better replacements," he adds as he sits down.
I nod. I didn't expect the conversation to go as easily as it did, without much push-back from Gabriel, so I don't know what to say.
"Will you be in charge? Of supervising them," he clarifies when I look puzzled. "I need someone like you to ensure this doesn't happen again."
Laughter punches its way out of my guts.
"I thought you said it wasn't my area of expertise?" I tease. "You were so confident that I didn't know enough and you were clear in your words when you told me to mind my business. I'm only reporting this because it will affect the work I am doing, too."
Gabriel turns his face away and remains silent for a few minutes. Eating his words, I assume.
After a while, I conclude that my business is done and get to my feet. That's when he faces me.
"I'm sorry."
I've gone through all the emotions associated with doubt since I walked into his office, and now I'm dumbfounded.
He sighs. "I know. It's not like me. But I have to learn to accept when I do something wrong. In this case, I restricted your involvement and didn't bother to double-check the manufacturing specs myself."
I dismiss his apology with a wave of the hand. "It's okay. It didn't set me back, so we're all good. I will be taking the rest of the day off, though, to get that much-needed sleep."
"Why don't we go for drinks later on?"
What is this man on today? Prescription meds? Did someone take the Gabriel Everhart I know and swap him with a more agreeable model?
"Why?" I fold my arms.
"It's to…uhm," he clears his throat, "say thank you. Also, I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot as neighbors, and this is the only way I can apologize properly."
An apology might not be worth anything coming from him, as I doubt that people like Gabriel are sincere when it comes to admitting their faults, but I nod anyway.
"Ok. Drinks sound nice."
"Great. Where do you want to go?"
I'm in a simulation.
"I'll text you," I say before hurrying out of his office.
His secretary gives me a pitying look when our eyes meet, and I shake my head. She has seen me leave his office in various ways, but never like someone who had a civil conversation with their boss.
It's either Gabriel getting on my nerves, or he's asking me out for drinks to apologize…there is no in-between. Which is the exact opposite of what my life used to be—balanced.
Strangely enough, I kind of like it.
Although I'll only ever admit that.
***
"So, you don't organize the parties?" I take a sip from the glass in front of me.
We ended up going to a cozy bar with good lighting and a pleasant smell. Gabriel offered to pay for whatever I ordered, so I got the most expensive cocktail on their menu.
